"Swing Time" is a musical comedy starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, one of ten films they made together. It followed their most successful film, "Top Hat", repeating that film's formula of light romantic comedy, singing, and dancing.
Astaire is once again a professional dancer, but makes his real money gambling, thanks to a lucky coin and cardsharp Victor Moore. Astaire is engaged to Betty Furness, but soon takes an interest in Rogers, who just happens to be a dancing instructor. Astaire has a rival for Rogers, just as in "Top Hat", proud conductor Georges Metaxa.
In addition to Astaire and Rogers, much of the
supporting cast from "Top Hat" returns,
particularly Helen Broderick and Eric Blore.
Some of the humor in "Swing Time" works well.
When Astaire makes an unwelcome visit to his
fiancee, the cat hisses at him. Later, Moore
attempts to impress a dancing instructor, and
clumsily knocks down a fence. But some gags can
be seen a mile off, like the snowball that hits
Broderick, and others just fall flat. It is
interesting that the studio would choose homely
Moore as Astaire's sidekick. While Astaire is
always formally dressed, he still does not look
like a leading man, and does not need competition.
Of course, Astaire vehicles are considered
classics due to the production numbers, which
only make up a quarter of the feature's length.
Even if the songs and choreography are
outstanding, the film's grade would still be
dominated by the script that constitutes most of
the film. The songs are well-crafted but
innocuous. Astaire certainly can dance, and there
is interesting choreography with shadows in the
'Bojangles' production. But even that number is
damaged by the poor singing of the ensemble
chorus.
I thought "Swing Time" was only a marginally good
film. However, most people clearly find more
charm in Fred Astaire's vehicles than I do. (61/100)
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